What Do Boxers Wear to Train?

You’re probably familiar with the clothes boxers wear in the ring: shiny shorts, thin shoes, robes as they walk in… You may have even seen boxers training in sleeveless hoodies or going running wrapped in bin bags, but what’s it all for? What do boxers wear to train and what are the best clothing items for boxers to wear while training? Read on to learn all about boxers’ clothing.

Boxing Clothing

There is lots of boxing equipment to get you training at home, and there are even some clothing items specific to boxing, however, when it comes to sports training, the most important thing is wearing flexible, breathable, comfortable clothing.

Boxing Tops

When you’re training, you’ll be moving around a lot so your top needs to be comfortable and fit well. Once you start your boxing training session, you’ll have your hands wrapped and boxing gloves on, so you want to avoid having to adjust your clothing as this is near impossible with gloves on and can be annoying for you and your training partner if you have to keep taking them on and off.

You should also wear breathable materials as you’ll be sweating a lot and you want that sweat to evaporate easily without keeping your skin damp or making you and your clothes smell bad. It may be tempting to go shirtless sometimes, but having sweat trickle down your torso is as annoying as readjusting your top after each round.

Women should also wear sports bras while training to minimise movement which can result in painful breasts and back pain, as well as being off-putting for your workout.

Boxing Bottoms

Boxing training is a workout for your whole body, so you want to wear something that’s comfortable and well-fitting on your bottom half as well as the top. Sports shorts or tracksuit bottoms are perfect for keeping you comfortable while you train, and you can add compression shorts or leggings underneath to support your muscles and help collect and wick away the sweat too.

Women’s sports leggings are also great options as they don’t fall as you move around, are made of sweat-wicking materials and don’t turn see-through when you bend over like ordinary leggings.

Boxing Shoes

As a beginner boxer, you can simply wear normal athletic shoes that you would wear for running or playing tennis, as long as they support the soles of your feet and your ankles comfortably. However, as you advance, it’s best to invest in a decent pair of boxing shoes so you can effectively support your feet through each movement.

Good footwork is crucial in boxing as it enables you to move quickly around your opponent without stumbling and return to your offensive or defensive stance quickly to attack and block shots as needed. Boxing shoes are designed specifically to help you with these movements as well as pivoting on the ball of your foot as you throw jabs.

You should also wear sports socks as they are designed to be thin and comfortable as well as evaporate sweat quickly so you don’t develop any sores on your feet.

What you wear also depends on what kind of training you’re doing for boxing. When you first start boxing, in a class or training yourself at home, shadow boxing is the best practice as it allows you to repeat each punch, improving your technique, without any resistance. If you begin punching boxing equipment – or people – without the proper technique, you’re increasing your risk of hand and wrist injuries. When shadowboxing, you don’t need to wear anything special, just your normal gym clothes.

If you’re an intermediate boxer, you should be doing some cardiovascular training to increase your muscle mass and build up your muscular strength and endurance, as well as training with punching bags and focus mitts. Focus mitts, or pads, are also great for beginners who want to start boxing with a friend.

For cardiovascular workouts like circuit training or HIIT, standard gym clothes suffice so you can be flexible in your movements without restrictions and avoid getting too sweaty. When punching focus pads or punching bags, you’ll need your comfortable workout clothes, but you’ll also need boxing shoes, hand wraps and boxing gloves to protect your knuckles and wrists from the impact with the cushions or bag.

Once you begin sparring, you should also always keep your hands protected and wear the appropriate shoes, but most importantly, you should invest in a mouthguard and a head guard to protect yourself further. Boxing gloves do cushion a punch more than not wearing them, however, a punch to the head or face in boxing gloves is still going to hurt. Unless you’re a professional boxer – in which case your boxing coach can advise – you should wear a head guard and mouthguard when boxing with an opponent.

As you advance in your training, you might also like to get a little more creative with what you wear, opting for professional-looking boxing shorts and potentially going shirtless to train in a way that replicates a real fight.

Boxing Gloves

As soon as you progress from shadow boxing, boxing gloves are the most important piece of boxing equipment you can have. Before striking anything, you should wrap your hands well with boxing hand wraps and wear the right size boxing glove for you to be comfortable and protect your hands.

Hand, wrist, shoulder and neck injuries are all common in boxing when a person’s technique is wrong or they’re using the wrong equipment, and wearing the right pair of boxing gloves can prevent many of these injuries.

Hoodies and Bin Bags as Boxing Gear?

Those of us with a big interest in boxing have all seen the film Rocky, and you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Stallone isn’t just wearing a thick grey tracksuit because it looks good.

Boxers who are competing in real fights have strict weight limits to ensure the fight is fair and no one has a huge advantage, so despite putting on a lot of muscle mass when training, boxers will try to lose weight before a fight to make sure they fit into their weight category.

Wearing thick clothing like hoodies and cotton tracksuits when training helps people to sweat more so they can lose water weight. Plastic bin bags supposedly work in the same way, so you can often see boxers running or doing other cardiovascular exercises whilst wearing warm tracksuits or wrapped in plastic bags to help them sweat a lot to lose enough water weight.

This is not a healthy way of losing weight and is not necessary for those boxing for fun or to stay in shape. If your aim is to lose weight through boxing, you should concentrate on cardiovascular activities to burn fat and make sure you’re hydrated while doing so. You’ll be sure to see your muscles grow and your body tone up in no time, but there’s no need to go to the extremes in weight loss like professional boxers.

However, you should wear a hoodie once you’ve finished boxing training, as the amount of body heat and sweat you will have produced during your session will leave you feeling colder after. Warmer clothes after training will help to reduce cold and cold-related illnesses, especially when stepping out of the gym into cold British streets.

Buy the Best Boxing Equipment

At Maxx Pro Boxing, we want you to enjoy boxing while staying comfortable and safe. That’s why we provide the UK with the best boxing equipment for gyms and for people to use in their own homes. Shop for the best boxing equipment today!